Eyeball Jewelry: Woman Has Platinum Heart Implanted In Her Eye, But AAO Says It's A Bad Idea

New York News

A New York City woman had a platinum heart implanted in her eyeball as a "conversation maker," according to news reports.

The woman, Lucy Luckayanko, told Fox 5 News that "I will be able to tell people. It will be unique. It will be sort of my unique factor." Luckayanko is reportedly the first woman in New York City to undergo the procedure, though it's been done in Europe and in Los Angeles before.

The doctor who performed the procedure on her, Park Avenue Laser Vision medical director Dr. Emil Chynn, told Fox 5 that the procedure is done by opening up the eyes with a speculum, and then making an incision with scissors between the white of the eye (called the sclera) and the clear part of the eye (called the conjunctiva). Then, the jewelry is placed within the superficial conjunctiva membrane.

However, the American Academy of Opthlamology warned that the procedure could be risky, potentially leading to infection or bleeding that could cause blinding, as well as perforation or puncture of the eye, or conjunctivitis. It's also possible for bleeding to occur beneath the conjunctiva, causing hemorrhage.

"The American Academy of Ophthalmology has not identified sufficient evidence to support the safety or therapeutic value of this procedure," Dr. Philip R. Rizzuto, M.D., an ophthalmologist and Communications Secretary for the Academy, said in a statement. "It urges consumers to avoid placing in the eye any foreign body or material that is not proven to be medically safe or approved by the FDA."